July 19, 2020

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What Have You Learned?

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be con-tent.” Philippians 4:11

Many people find joy and contentment to be elusive qualities. Why is this so? Surely these things reside within the will of God for hu-manity (John 10:10). Paul declares that he had learned the secret of having these spiritual blessings, Philippians 4:12-13 “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” What was it that Paul had learned?

First, it must be appreciated that Paul understood that having joy and contentment did not mean that his life would be free from trou-ble or trial. Too often our focus is trying to avoid or eliminate hard-ships rather than overcoming them. Some hardships must be em-braced (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). To have joy and contentment is not to be free from trouble or trial. Rather, joy and contentment is freedom in spite of these things.

Second, Paul yielded himself to the fact that joy and contentment are blessings to be received from God as opposed to things acquired by one’s own strength. One of the greatest impediments to joy and contentment is submission. One whose will is in conflict with the will of God will find joy and contentment not only to be elusive, but also impossible. Paul clearly states that he had learned to empty himself of self (Philippians 3:4-9). Until we yield our will to that of the Master, joy and contentment will always prove to be elusive.

When Philippians is read in context it is discovered that Paul open-ly declares the secret to joy and contentment. He indicates that he has learned the secret in chapter 4 verse 12. He reveals the secret in chapter 4 verse 13. The secret – submission to Christ and full reliance on Him. The revelation of Philippians 4:13 is not that God will enable us to do whatever we want. To the contrary, it is a clear call for each of us to surrender ourselves to Jesus that God might work in us and through us. To God be the glory!

In Him, Ricky Cook

We Kneel In Prayer . . .

· Aba Fuah requests our prayers for the family of Eugene Prince, who used to preach where Aba worshipped in Bir-mingham, AL. He passed away from Covid-19.

· Gloria Hughley asks us to pray for those who are sick and those who are dealing with other health issues. Gloria also asks us to pray for her as she travels to attend her grand-daughter’s graduation.

· Valencia and Rodney Philyaw would like us to pray for their family as they mourn the loss of Valencia’s aunts; Betty Stewart and Paula Brown, who passed away due to Covid-19. Valencia also would like us to pray for her par-ents; Catherine & LC Cobb, her sister; Ivy Paige and her nephew, Quan Robinson who were all tested for the virus and are waiting for the results.

· Alan Bobo will undergo treatment for low-risk prostate cancer sometime this fall and would like the church to pray for God’s hand in gaining a full, cancer-free recovery.

· Please continue to pray for all those who are working closely with Covid patients.

Our Military Families: Eric Byers, Caleb Crone, Rowan Crone, Ben Jackson, Kaila Luo, Brian Fiddermon

Continued Prayers Are Requested For: Alexander Johnson, Verilyn Dawson, Carina Ashurst, Mark Hoshall

The SALT activities for July will be coordinated by the ladies in the Brosey life group. Liz Brosey is the point of contact.

Our Laurel church Facebook page is a great way for our church family to stay connected. It is a closed group for cur-rent Laurel members and for former

Laurel members. If you invite your friends, who are not Laurel members, to join the group, they will be declined. If you have any questions about this policy, please talk with one of the elders.

We are happy to welcome a new brother and sister in Christ. Julian McElveen

and Antoinette Dolphin were baptized on July 11th. Please keep them in your prayers as they begin their new walk with Christ.

The Bad Samaritan

“Which one?" That’s what a typical Jew in Jesus’ time would have asked about this title. To many Jewish people, all Samari-tans were bad. There was no such thing as a good Samaritan. The truth, of course, is that Samaritans were like other people. Some were good and some were bad.

Although the Bible does not specifically call him "the good Samaritan," most Christians know the story about him. But what about the bad Samaritan? Who is this person? What did this individual do to deserve such a label?

When Jesus sat down to rest at Jacob’s well, a woman of Samaria came to draw water. When Jesus asked her for a drink of water, she was surprised and said, “The Jews have no deal-ings with the Samaritans" (John 4:9). Thus began an interesting conversation between the Lord and the Samaritan woman.

What kind of woman was she? When He told her to go and get her husband, she said she had no husband. Jesus then re-vealed her checkered past. "Thou hast well said, I have no hus-band: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband" (John 4:17-18). We are not told whether her five marriages ended in divorce or death of a spouse or a combination of both. We do know her situation when Jesus met her. She was living with a man. Even by the moral standards of the Samaritans, her life had gone bad. Yet ironically we see good points about her, and the Lord brought out the good that was in her to the fullest.

Though she was living in sin, this woman was not brazen and boastful about her situation. Had she been like some women today, she would have told Jesus, "Oh, I’m, not married. I live with my boyfriend." That response is common. Women and men talk about living in fornication as if it is normal and acceptable; They “are proud and open about the way they live when they ought to be ashamed. At least the Samaritan women did not try to shove her sin in Jesus’ face like some today do.

This woman was guilty, but she did not resent the Lord when He corrected her. She took His correction well. When He brought to light the sin in her life, she did not get mad and storm away. That is what many today do when you expose their sins. Alt-hough she evidently did and change the subject to worship, she was willing to keep listening to Jesus. When the Lord told her that the place where Samaritans worshiped was wrong, she again listened to His reproof instead of getting angry and refus-ing to listen (John 4:20-24). Instead, this woman who had been living a bad life did the best thing she had ever done. She went into the city and told the men, "Is not this the Christ?" (John 4:29). Because of her, many believed in Jesus (John 4:29).

We do not know what became of this woman. What we do learn is that we should do our best to reach bad Samaritans as well as good ones. Kerry Duke West End church of Christ, Livingston, TN

The elders are monitoring the sit-uation in regards to the Covid-19 cri-

sis closely. In trying to comply with the directive from the gov-ernor, the elders have canceled all events at the church building for now.

We are able to live stream our Sunday morning service and Wednesday auditorium class. The Wednesday night Ladies Class is being done via Zoom. The church web site has many of the Bible class lessons and ser-mons on the podcast page on our website.

If you have prayer requests or anything that you need to dis-cuss with an elder, you can email them at: el-ders@laurelchurch.net. You can send your contribution through Elexio. The website has instruc-tions on how to do it online.

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